684
INDUSTRIAL SECTION
Cotton Waste
George H. Dockray*, Barkley Meadowst, and Leonard Smith
Introduction
The waste produced in a cotton textile mill is an
important factor in determining the cost of operating
, and therefore in influencing the profits of the mill.
Since cotton goes to market principally in the form
of products manufactured by the mills, better control
of waste production and increased value of the waste
produced are also important to those segments of the
cotton industry which supply the raw fiber.
Greater appreciation and knowledge of (1) the
size and the nature of the waste industry, (2) the
factors influencing waste markets, (3) proved meth-
ods for controlling waste, and (4) opportunities for
progress through research are the objectives sought
in presenting this report.
A glossary of terms used in this paper is appended
for the ready reference of readers who, although in-
terested in the subject, may not be familiar with the
terminology used.
Production
Quantities Produced
During the calendar year 1948 the United States
cotton mills consumed a total of 4,666,990,000 lbs. of
cotton. Approximately 88% of this cotton was used
in the manufacture of carded fabrics, and 12% was
used in combed fabrics. In a recent survey of cot-
ton mills it was found that, including bagging and
ties, about 15% of the raw cotton manufactured into
* Technical Service Department, National Cotton Council
ofAmerica, Washington, D. C.
† Agricultural Economist, Southern Regional Research
Laboratory, New Orleans, Louisiana.
&Dag er; Director of Utilization Research, National Cotton Coun-
cil of America, Washington, D. C.
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carded yarn products and about 30% of the cotton
processed into combed yarn products became waste.
Figure 1 shows schematically the more important
types of waste produced and the places where they
originate in the mill.
Roughly 80% to 90% of the United States produc-
tion of mill waste originates in the South, because of
the large proportion of cotton mills there, and the
concentration of Southern mills on the production of
heavy fabrics. About 13 % of the total waste pro-
duced was reworked in the mill where it originated;
the remainder went into trade channels.
A detailed estimate of cotton waste production, by
types, for 1948 appears in Table I. White waste,
which is actually good cotton, is not included in waste
statistics.
In 1947, according to the Bureau of the Census,
88,800,000 lbs. of cotton waste was used in the mills
where it was produced. Table II shows, in detail, the
breakdown between waste consumed internally and
that consumed externally, together with the value of
the waste shipped.
During the past two decades, improvements in ma-
chinery and an increase in &dquo;waste consciousness&dquo; have
reduced the percentage of waste produced in cotton
processing. In 1930 the average waste factor for the
cotton textile industry was 17.9% (excluding bagging
and ties). By 1935 the factor had decreased to 16.2%
and in 1947 to 14.7%. The trend to even lower waste
percentages apparently is continuing, because the
waste factor for 1948 is estimated to be 14.2%.
Quantities Recoverable
On
a net weight basis, in 1948 in the United States
14.24% of the cotton produced in the mills was re-

moved as waste. Of this, about 9.78% was recover-
able fiber, while 4.46% was foreign material of no
commercial value. An analysis of the makeup of
different classes of waste appears in Table III.
Cotton Grade ayad
Influence of Staple
Since trash content is a factor in grade, lower
grades of cotton should obviously yield more waste.
Staple length also has an influence. Greater percent-
ages of picker and card waste are obtained by proc-
essing the longer staples than by processing corre-
sponding grades of shorter staple lengths. Slower
doffer speeds are used for the longer staples; this
automatically decreases the speed of the feed roll and
hence results in a more thorough carding action of
the longer staples. The average relationship between
Fm. 1. FLozef chart
showing the more important types
of cotton waste produced, and their point of origin in the
mill.
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685
grade and manufacturing waste as shown by past ex-
perience is indicated in Table IV. Individual sam-
ples may not always conform to the average relation-
ship because poor color may result in a low grade
designation, and because the amount of waste is also
influenced by the nature of the extraneous material
present in the cotton and by the characteristics of the
fiber.
Marketing
The marketing of cotton waste is quite different
from the marketing of raw cotton. In the waste
trade there is no equivalent of the cotton spot and
futures markets because there are no recognized
standard grades or staple lengths for the various
types of cotton waste.
Marketing Systems
Cotton waste is marketed through four different
systems, or through combinations of these.
Historically the oldest, and still the most common
method employed by mills, is sale to a waste dealer.
The dealer buys from a number of mills, contracting
to purchase the waste produced in a given period,
such as 3 to 12 mos., at a price which covers the whole
period of the contract. Because of the wide fluctua-
tion in waste prices at the present time, most con-
tracts cover a period of 3 mos. The dealer collects,
sorts, grades, and processes the waste in the manner
that will assure him of obtaining the greatest profit.
If rag dealers are included, there are about 675
cotton waste dealers in the United States. Most of
these are small; hence the waste trade is highly com-
petitive. The principal mill waste markets are in
Boston, Atlanta, and Charlotte; the important rag
markets are in New York, Boston, and Chicago.
In the absence of standard grades, waste is usually
sold by dealers on description or by sample. Waste
is normally sold, in bales, on an f.o.b. basis. Soft
waste bales weigh 400 to 600 lbs., whereas hard waste
bales weigh as much as 800 to 900 lbs.
The system of disposing of waste by contract sale
to dealers has remained the most popular with mills
because of several advantages which it offers. Mills
consider cotton waste a necessary evil incidental to
the manufacture of yarn or cloth. For the mill to
process and sell its waste to those who use it as a raw
material would require complete production and sales
departments devoted to waste alone. The entry of
the mill into the waste business would also require
686

TABLE I. ESTIMATED GROSS WASTE REPORTED BY U.S. MILLS, 19481*

*
Superior numbers throughout the tables refer to footnotes.
1
Based on a survey of 32 carded yarn mills and 17 combed yarn mills.
2
Carded yarn mills processed 88.12% of total cotton consumption.
3
Combed yarn mills processed 11.88% of total cotton consumption.
4 9,097,446 running bales of 513 lbs. each.
5
Including bagging and ties.
6
Excluding bagging and ties.

TABLE II. MILL WASTE: QUANTITY AND VALUE OF PRODUCTS, UNITED STATES, 1947*

*
Source: Bureau of the Census.

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 687

TABLE III. WASTE LOSS IN COTTON MANUFACTURING’ BROKEN DOWN INTO FIBER CONTENT
AND FOREIGN MATTER, UNITED STATES, 1948

1
Based on data from both carded and combed fabrics.
2
Data from Table I.
3
Fiber content of each grade and source as follows: (1) waste capable of being reworked-Shirley Analyzer; (2) waste
capable of being willowed-Shirley Analyzer and trade sources; (3) waste capable of being garnetted-trade sources.
4
Data indicate recoverable fiber and nonusable trash given as percentages of the net weight fed. Figures for recoverable
fiber arrived at by multiplying waste loss by fiber content percent.
5 All
types of threads.
6
All types of rags.

the development of markets, merchandising of the to be relieved of the responsibility of waste disposal,
product, storage, and the assumption of all the nor- the mill accepts a lower price for its waste. The
mal risks such as credits, claims, rejections and re- price offered by the dealer on a waste contract is low,
pudiations, and fluctuations of price and value. All since the market is subject to rapid changes and the
these functions are assumed by the dealer when he character of the waste from a mill may change during
takes the mill’s waste contract. However, in order the life of a contract because of changes in machine
settings or in the type of stock run.
A second method of marketing cotton mill waste is
TABLE IV. AVERAGE PERCENTAGES, PICKER AND CARD through mill-owned corporations, formed either by a
WASTE, FOR AVAILABLE GRADES OF COTTON
group of centrally owned mills or by a group of indi-
vidual mills which work together for the purpose of
handling waste in the same manner as Nvould a con-
tractor. These corporations set up plants which proc-
ess waste for sale to consumers or dealers.

Under this system the mills assume the responsi-

bilities formerly borne by the waste dealers, but they

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688
also get a higher return for their waste. However,
the mill-owned corporation plant has not become an
important factor in the marketing of cotton waste.
A third method of selling waste makes use of indi-
viduals or companies who sell for the mill on a com-
mission basis. The commission agent undertakes to
sell the mill’s output of waste where he can do so most
advantageously, and he receives a percentage of the
selling price for his services. By using this system,
the mill hopes to get a better return for its waste
without actually going into the waste business.
The selling of waste on commission was first
adopted about 1909 by British and Scottish thread
mills, and was also put into use by their American
subsidiaries. Other American mills began selling
their waste on commission about 1915. Although
still utilized, the commission method is gradually
losing favor, for several reasons. The differences
in the selling prices of many classifications of waste
are so small that the agent’s commission is not ma-
terially increased when he is able to dispose of the
waste at a slightly higher price. Thus there is little
incentive for the agent to seek a higher price even
though the added profit to the mill might be fairly
substantial. In addition, although such practices
are not widespread, there are ways in which the
commission agent may increase his own profit to the
detriment of the mill, such as by camouflaged sales,
rebates, and by substituting the mill’s waste on or-
ders booked by agents on their own account.
Finally, mills which do not wish to go into the
waste business or sell waste on commission may resort
to spot selling as a means of getting a greater return.
In this case the mill accumulates its waste until it
has a considerable quantity, usually a carload, of a
particular type. This is then sold to the highest bid-
der, usually a dealer. A mill which sells on spot as-
sumes the risk of a falling market, but, conversely,
stands to gain on a rising market. The mill must also
store the waste until a sufficient quantity has been
accumulated. Spot selling is not practical for the
small cotton mill because of the storage problem which
arises from the longer time required to accumulate
large amounts of each type of waste.
’
Waste Grades
The waste industry has no uniform system of grades
such as have been established for raw cotton and for
linters. Generally speaking, cotton waste is classified
according to the mill process in which it originates,
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and in some cases by the type of cotton from which
it is derived. For example, card strips are subdivided
into such classifications as Upland strips, Peeler
strips, and Sak strips. Appraisal of the quality within
grades is based on color, content of foreign matter,
character, and staple length.*
Attempts have been made in the past to reach
agreement on a uniform system of grades for each of
the various types of cotton waste, but the complexity
of the problem and the opposition of certain of the
industry groups concerned has prevented adoption of
the grading systems proposed. Those not in favor
of industry-wide standards say that cotton waste is
an extremely variable commodity-even mills pro-
ducing the same fabrics from the same cotton will have
waste with very different characteristics, because they
use different machine settings and their waste control
programs are not equally effective. The problem of
establishing workable grades, already made difficult by
the large number of cotton varieties, grades, and staple
lengths used and types of fabrics woven, is thus fur-
ther complicated. Therefore, it is claimed, a grading
system for cotton waste which considered all possible
variables would be hopelessly- complex.
Many mills, on the other hand, feel that they would
get a better price for their waste if it was sold by
grade. The lack of standard grades makes each waste
transaction an individual matter between the mill and
the waste dealer. Without grades, a &dquo;~~Vaste Ex-
change,&dquo; operating on the principles of the Cotton Ex-
changes, would not be possible.
Specifications
A number of cotton waste standards, which cover
the requirements for certain specific uses, have been
set up by Government and private agencies. Among
the organizations and agencies which have promul-
gated such specifications are: (1) American Hospital
Association; (2) American Transit Association; (3)
Association of American Railroads; (4) National As-
sociation of Waste Material Dealers; (5) Sanitary
Institute of America; (6) U. S. Govern~nent-(a)
Department of the Army; ( b ) Department of the
Navy; ( c ) Director of Procurement.
The specifications which these organizations have
drawn up are intended for the use of their members
in purchasing from waste dealers, and are principally
* The glossary appended to this paper contains an explana-
tion of the place of formation and the content of all common
forms of waste.

concerned with thread waste and rags, although some
other types of waste also are covered.
In general, the specifications for thread waste stip-
ulate of which material the waste shall consist, the
percentage of slasher yarn permissible, the moisture,
tare, and dirt content, and the methods of testing and
inspection. In its specifications for cotton wiping
waste, for example, the Government requires that not
more than 10% of the waste shall be slasher yarn,
that it shall not contain yarns less than 3 in. long, and
that it shall be free from shredded rags or clips,
coarse or unabsorbent yarns, threads, strings, fly
sweepings, and dirt. The maximum tare allowed is
6%, and a penalty is imposed if the moisture content
is greater than 7%. If the moisture or tare content
exceeds 10%, the waste is rejected.
The Association of American Railroads specifies
that new waste for journal-box packing shall contain
best-quality cotton cop, warp, spooler, and slasher
threads in any desired proportion, except that not
more than 40% shall be soft slasher threads. Hard
slasher threads may be used after &dquo;premachining to
remove the size from the threads to an acceptable de-
gree.&dquo; Admixture of shearings, sweepings, shredded
rags, and the like, is prohibited. The moisture con-
tent must not exceed 7%, and the combined oil and
dirt content may not be greater than 3 % .
The specifications for wiping cloths promulgated
by the Government’s Director of Procurement stipu-
late that cloths for wiping purposes shall be of an ab-
sorbent fabric which shall weigh from 2 to 9 oz. per
sq. yd. Each cloth must have an area of at least 2
sq. ft., and no cloth shall be longer than 30 in. or nar-
rower than 10 in.
There are two classes of cotton rags-old rags, of
which 15 grades are currently recognized, and new
rags, of which there are 39 grades. There are also 18
grades of knitted rags. Rags are graded by color,
type of fabric, size, and amount and kind of foreign
material present.
The better grades of rags are chiefly used as wiping
cloths, of which there are 6 grades. Eleven grades of
rags are suitable for conversion into wiping cloths.
The wiping cloth grades are No. 1 and No. 2 White
Wiping Cloth, No. 1 and No. 2 Colored Wiping
Cloth, and No. 1 and No. 2 Underwear Wiper, known
in the trade as &dquo;ganzies.&dquo; Specialties in the wiping
material field consist of every conceivable kind of new
remnant and mill end suitable for use as wiping
cloths, either with or without processing.
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689
It has been established that the use of unsterilized
wiping cloths constitutes a serious infection hazard.
Communicable diseases may be transmitted to the
workers using these cloths. The members of the
wiping cloth industry are attempting to raise the
standard of the cloths, and a few States have passed
legislation requiring that all wiping cloths be steri-
lized. The Sanitary Institute of America has estab-
lished sterilization standards for wiping cloths. These
standards stipulate that no wiping cloths shall be de-
scribed as sterilized unless they have been thoroughly
washed and boiled in a solution containing soap and
caustic soda and dried at an average temperature of
more than 212° F. An affidavit to this effect is at-
tached to every bale of wiping cloths sold by members
of the Sanitary Institute.
The Army and the Navy have developed specifica-
tions for other types of cotton waste. Bleached cellu-
lose prepared from cotton wastes is used in the manu-
facture of explosives. The material must be purified
and thoroughly washed in preparation for nitrating.
The cellulose must have a viscosity of from 4.4 to 36
poises, depending on the grade, when dissolved in
cuprammonium solution and tested in a falling sphere
viscometer.
Specifications for garnetted felt require that Grade
A, for inner-spring mattresses, shall consist of ma-
terial equal to a felt made from 50% middling ~-in.
cotton and 50% Subgrade 2 high linters. Grade B
felt, for cotton-felt mattresses, must be made from
garnetted felt of at least the quality of that made from
25% middling 7-in. cotton and 75% Subgrade 2 high
linters. The comparison is made by reference to
standard samples.
Classified cotton wastes must be free of rubber,
leather, wool, silk, wood, paper, rayon, and other ex-
traneous materials. Waste of one class must not con-
tain waste which belongs in any other class. Colored
materials are barred from most paper-making rags.
Prince
The spinnable grades of waste command higher
prices than the nonspinnable grades. Thus, such
grades as Sak comber, Peeler comber, card strips,
white spinner, and spinnable fly bring a higher price
than sweeps, dusthouse, thread waste, and most rags.
Cotton waste prices are quoted in cents per pound.
During 1948, spinnable grades of waste ranged in
price from approximately 120 to 240 per lb., depend-
ing on grade. The nonspinnable grades. sold for from
690

TABLE Y. PRICES OF COTTON WASTE BY GRADES,’ UNITED STATES, 1940-48 (CENTS PER POUND)*

*
From trade sources.
1
Prices, f.o.b. cotton dealers.
2 Not soft waste, but classified as such for comparison with card-room sweeps quotations.
3
Average price for April of each year.

less than 11 per lb. to as much as 120 per lb. The foam rubber, is the
most important consideration in
prices of most grades of waste in 1948 were more determining the price of nonspinnable waste.
than double and in some cases triple the prewar Textile mill activity and the waste selling policies
prices. For complete data on waste prices during the of mills affect the price of cotton waste. When mills
period 1940 to 1948, see Table V. are consuming large quantities of cotton, there is a

The prices of the spinnable grades of waste, al-
though influenced by other factors, are more closely
related to the price of cotton than are the prices of
the nonspinnable grades. The balance between sup-
ply and demand for cotton waste, and for such com-
petitive products as linters, rayon waste, and even
large supply of waste on the market. The converse is
true when cotton consumption is low. The mills may
influence the supply of cotton waste by utilizing it in
their own products, or by withholding their waste un-
tip prices are higher. Most mills regard the sale of
their waste as a means of reducing raw material costs.

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FIG. 2. Relationship between the price trends of
Peeler comber noils and middling l-,5-in. cotton, United
States, 1940-1950.
Dealers have no means of hedging waste purchases
since there is no futures market on which to trade.
They profit by buying at a low price and selling at a
higher price. If caught with a large inventory on a
declining market, the dealer may suffer severe finan-
cial losses, since he has no futures contracts to offset
the depreciation of his inventory.
Dealers may influence the supply, and consequently
the price, of cotton waste by purchasing stock for ex-
port or by withholding their stock for higher prices.
Both actions tend to decrease the supply in the do-
mestic market at a particular time. Many dealers,
anticipating business through the Economic Cooper-
ation Administration (E.C.A.) program, built up
large inventories of spinnable waste, thus creating
extremely high prices in the domestic market for
comber noils, card strips, white spinner, and roving.
Exports would be extremely limited but for the E.
C.A. program, because of the shortage of dollars in
the principal waste-consuming countries.
The consumer of waste may influence prices. If he
can sell products made entirely or partly of waste, he
will enter the market to buy. The reverse is true if
he cannot dispose of his product at a profit. If com-
petitive materials, such as low-grade cotton, linters,
or other fibers, are better in quality or lower in price,
he will use them as raw material for his product in-
stead of cotton waste.
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691
Fm. 3. Relationship between the price trends of card
strips and good ordinary 13-in. cotton, United States,
1940-1950.
The relationship between the price trends of Peeler
comber noils and middling 1~/i~-in. cotton is shown
in Figure 2. Prior to June, 1942, comber noils were
quoted at a percentage of the price of New York spot
cotton, but today they are quoted independently in
cents per pound. As shown in Figure 2, the price of
comber noils followed the price of cotton in the period
1940-42, but during the war years the price of noils
was under a ceiling, while the price of cotton, not
under a ceiling, moved upward. Since the removal of
O.P.A. controls, the price of noils has been governed
more by foreign and domestic demand than by the
price of cotton.
The price trend for good ordinary 13/1~-in. cotton
as compared with that for Upland card strips is shown
in Figure 3. These products were chosen for com-
parison because they compete in many end uses and
are used interchangeably, depending on which is the
cheaper at a particular time. For example, in 1940
and in part of 1947 and 1948 use of good ordinary
cotton in blends of raw stock for spinning purposes
692

Exports a7zd Imports

Prior to the entry of the United States into World
War II, the country exported more cotton waste than
it imported, but during 1948 imports exceeded exports
by 17,000,000 lbs. During 1948, exports of soft waste
were approximately one-half of the 1939 amount,
whereas soft waste imports in that ear were nearly
four times as great as in 1939. Hard waste exports
exceeded imports every year since 1939 except 1945.
About 18 % of the comber noils produced in 1948
were exported, whereas card strip and hard waste

exports were a negligible portion of the total produc-

tion. Quantities exported and imported, by types,
are detailed in Table VI.

The chief countries to which cotton waste was ex-

ported were Canada, Germany, Union of South Af-
rica, Cuba, and Belgium, each importing over 1,000,-
FIG. 4. Relationship between the price trend s of card 000 lbs. from the United States during 1948. The
fly waste and Grade 2 linters, United States, 1940-1950. United States imported, for the same year, 1,000,000
lbs. or more from each of the countries India, China,
would have been cheaper than use of card strips. Brazil, Russia, Belgium, France, Italy, Argentina,
Usually, however, card strips ate cheaper than good and Canada.
ordinary cotton.
Of two rawmaterials used in the manufacture of Competing Materials
mattress felts, card fly and Grade 2 linters, it may be In end uses in which spinning is necessary, cotton
seen from Figure 4 that white undusted fly normally waste competes with low grades of cotton, cotton
sells at a lower price. linters, rayon and rayon waste, and wool and wool

~~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~ ~~ z
TABLE VI. EXPORTS AND IMPORTS OF COTTON WASTE, UNITED STATES, 1939-48*

*
Source: Bureau of the Census.
i
Included with card strips.

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waste, in the form of yarn, fabric, twine, and cordage.
Where spinning is not necessary, cotton waste com-
petes with low grades of cotton, cotton linters, rayon
and rayon waste, wool waste, nylon waste, vegetable
fibers, asbestos, glass fibers, wood pulp, foam rubber,
and numerous other materials in such end uses as
felts, padding, wadding, stuffing, nonwoven fabrics,
insulation, absorbent cotton, filters, wiping waste,
journal-box packing, filler in plastic molding
pounds, paper, and rayon manufacture.
The consumer of cotton waste may be influenced
to use other raw materials by one or all of three
factors: price, quantity available, and relative suit-
ability. Of these, price is the most important consid-
eration. If the price of domestic waste is too high,
manufacturers will buy imported waste, unless it is
not available, in which case they will use cheaper
substitutes where possible.
The availability in quantity of a particular grade
of waste is the second consideration. If the desired
grade is not available in sufficient quantity, the man-
ufacturer will use a competitive material which is in
ample supply. The availability of cotton waste at
a particular time is governed by several factors: the
consumption of cotton in textile mills; imports; the
stock held by dealers, mills, and consumers; exports;
and the amount used in mills where it is produced.
The influence of the first four factors is obvious.
Whether or not a mill reworks its own waste de-
pends on the type of product made, and on the prices
of waste, cotton, and its finished product. When the
mill can obtain a high price for its yarn and fabric,
spinnable waste may be sold; but as yarn and fabric
prices decrease, the desirability of reworking spin-
nable waste increases.
Obviously, competitive products may be chosen
instead of cotton waste when their properties are
more suitable for a particular end use. The com-
petitors will be discussed separately.
1. Cotton.-The spinnable grades of cotton waste,
particularly card strips, comber noils, and the better
grades of fly, which comprise about 40% of the
total cotton waste, are competitive with raw cotton.
They are used either alone or in blends with cotton
to produce a wide variety of medium and coarse
yarns and fabrics, such as osnaburg, waste duck,
blankets, gauze, wicking, wrapping twine, chenille
yarns, and carpet yarns.
It is estimated that 157,000,000 lbs. of card strips
and 80,000,000 lbs. of comber noils were produced
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693
in this country in 1948. About 15% of this produc-
tion was used in the mill where it was produced.
Allowing for the amount exported and for substan-
tial imports, it is estimated that 159,000,000 lbs. of
card strips and 63,000,000 lbs. of comber noils were
consumed in yarns and fabrics, w here they competed
directly with raw cotton. The nonspinnable grades,
as well as card strips and fly, compete with raw cot-
com- ton in the production of batting, wadding, and mat-
tress felts. The extent of this competition is shown
in Table VII.
2. Cotton Linters.-There are 7 grades of linters.
Grades 1 to 4 compete with card strips, comber noils,
white picker, and fly for use in the production of
mattresses, padding, upholstery, surgical dressings,
absorbent cotton, and, as blends with cotton, in low-
grade yarns and fabrics. The present high prices of
strips and noils, however, preclude their being used
interchangeably with linters in lower-grade prod-
ucts. Grades 5 to 7 are used principally as raw ma-
terial for chemical cellulose, an outlet in which cot-
ton waste has never effectively competed.
Information showing the relative consumption of
linters and waste is not available; but the estimated
consumption, in a number of uses, of waste and lin-
ter combined is given in Table IX.
3. Rayon Staple.-Both viscose and acetate rayon
staple are used in blends with cotton waste to pro-
duce woven and nonwoven fabrics, where they com-
TABLE VII. PADDING AND UPHOLSTERY FILLING
PRODUCTION AND VALUE, 1947*
*
Source: Bureau of the Census.
694
pete chiefly with card strips and comber noils.
Rayon’s quality points for use in nonwoven fabrics
are cleanliness, transparency, luster, and level dye-
ing properties with the faintest pastel shades. In
addition, since acetate rayon is thermoplastic, it can
be used to bond the fibers together, eliminating the
need for the resin which is necessary with cotton
waste and viscose rayon.
Rayon staple also competes with cotton waste
and cotton in the plastics industry as a filler in mold-
ing compounds.
4. Rayon Waste.-Rayon waste and cotton waste
compete in nonwoven fabrics and in blends with
wool for producing knitting yarns and yarns for use
in blanketing. Both are also used as fillers in plastic
molding compounds.
Rayon rags and threads are macerated into flock,
which competes with flock recovered from wool and
cotton hard waste. Flock can be blown, dusted, or
applied by electrostatic methods to fabrics, paper,
plastics, or other backgrounds to give decorative
eff ects.
5. Wool and Wool Waste.-Wool is blended with
cotton waste to produce mixed yarns, which serve
as backing for fleece underwear and overcoatings.
These yarns are also used in blanketing, suiting, and
knit products. Wool waste is used alone or in blends
with cotton waste in felts, wadding, upholstery fill-
ing, filters, and journal-box packing.
6. Foam Rubber.-In recent years foam rubber
has made substantial gains in the upholstery, furni-
ture, and mattress trades, where it has displaced felts
made of cotton, cotton waste, linters, and mixtures of
these. According to the Rubber Manufacturers’
Association of America, 25,000 tons of liquid latex,
of which foam rubber is made, were sold to manu-
facturers in 1948. This is nearly double the 1947
total of 14,000 tons. Census statistics show that in
1947, 34,000 mattresses were manufactured from
foam rubber, 4,100,000 lbs. was used in upholstery,
and 15,100,000 lbs. in automobile seats.
7. Other Competitive Materials.-In addition to
the materials mentioned above, cotton waste com-
petes in felts and upholstery stuffing with jute, hemp,
sisal, coir, kapok, Spanish moss, palm fiber, curled
hair, and synthetic substitutes for hair. Waste from
several of these fibers may also be used. The quan-
tities of the various fibers consumed in the manufac-
ture of upholstery stuffing and padding are shown in
Table VII.
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Insulation made from cotton and cotton waste
must compete with numerous materials, both organic
and inorganic in origin. These include rock wool,
glass, hair fibers, powdered diatomaceous earth, cork,
wood-pulp sheets, gypsum, and fibers such as kapok,
eelgrass, flax, jute, asbestos, and sugar cane bagasse.
As a filler in plastic molding compounds, cotton
waste competes with asbestos, cocoanut shell, corn-
cob flour, diatomaceous earth, glass, keratin, lignin,
linters, macerated fabric and cord, mica, nylon, paper,
pulp, rayon, sisal, walnut-shell flour, and wood flour.
Cotton waste competes with hemp and hemp waste
in the form of oakum for boat caulking and propeller
shaft packing. Hemp and also jute and the hard vege-
table fibers are competitors of cotton waste in the
production of cordage and twine.
Processing of Cotton Waste
Cotton waste is utilized by several different types
of processors. Waste dealers buy stock from the
mill, clean it, and sell it at a higher price. Other
processors willow or garnett on a commission basis,
never gaining title to the stock. Some textile mills
and other consumers do the complete job of proc-
essing.
The spinning of yarn entirely from waste has
never developed in the United States to the extent
that it has in England and on the Continent. There
the waste spinning trade is a highly diversified and
specialized industry, producing yarns for use in
mops, bagging, napped goods, wicking, and a host
of other fabrics.
In the United States spinnable cotton waste is
usually spun in blends with cotton and other fibers;
nonspinnable waste is cleaned and, if necessary, gar-
netted before processing into felts, wadding, and
similar products. Table VIII presents statistics on
the quantity and value of total shipments and inter-
plant transfers of cotton and other types of waste.
Reworking by Mills -
When the character of the waste makes reworking
practicable, the mills reprocess in order to
usually
reduce total waste percentage, and hence, in effect,
the raw material cost. Mills which spin relatively
coarse counts usually rework card strips once, and
dispose of the No. 2 strips as waste. Flat strips are
sometimes reworked continuously by moving the flat
comb to the back of the card, so that the strips fall
onto the lap as it is going into the licker-in. This is

generally not practicable with fine goods, but seems
to be quite satisfactory in the production of coarse
goods.
Comber noils are most often used in this country
in blends with raw cotton. Since processing reduces
spinnability, it has been found impracticable to use
more than 50% of noils in a blend. Today, many
mills which normally use noils are using low-grade
cotton in its place, because the price of low-grade
cotton is lower than that of comber noils. Usually
this price relationship is the reverse.
Cleaning Cotton Waste
Practically all cotton waste contains foreign
terwhich must be removed before further processing.
The content of dirt, leaf, motes, and other extraneous
material ranges from about 8% for card strips to as
high as 60% for opener and picker motes, the bal-
ance being fiber of great variation in staple length.
TABLE VIII. PROCESSED WASTE AND RECOVERED
UNITED STATES, 1947*
*
Source: Bureau of the Census.
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695
In addition, some wastes are oily or full of sizing,
and may also contain metal, wood, and other matter
not naturally associated with cotton. Weave-room
sweeps in particular have a high content of such non-
fibrous matter; and the lack of an economical method
for cleaning them makes them practically valueless.
Since bobbins, spindles, bottle caps, and other debris
commonly found among sweeps are harmful to waste
processing machinery, they must be removed by
hand before the waste is cleaned.
Cotton waste which has been compressed in the
bale must be opened before cleaning. For soft waste
this is done in a mixing picker, which opens the stock
mat- and removes the heavier trash. This machine con-
sists of a feed apron, feed rolls, and a cylinder fitted
with 8 rows of teeth. Heavier pickers are used
where the stock requires them.
The stock next passes through a willow, which
does a more thorough cleaning. The older-type wil-
low, now little used, consists of a revolving cage, with
intermittently driven feed rollers, which permits leav-
FIBERS, ing the cotton in the machine for any predetermined
length of time. The newer-type willow is continuous
in operation, and contains a picker beater where the
stock enters the machine. The cotton waste is
tumbled about in the willow, where it is further
opened. The dirt and trash removed are taken from
the machine by a screw conveyor. A willow of the
latest type is shown in Figures 5 and 6.
Most willows are operated in conjunction with a
single or double drum ceiling condenser, which re-
moves dirt and dust by air suction. The vertical
trunk of the condenser often contains a magnet for
removing tramp iron. After leaving the condenser
the stock may be dropped into a truck, or may be
carried by air suction or conveyor belt to the next
process.
From 15 % to 60% of the stock fed is removed in
the process of cleaning. This waste loss is termed
&dquo;shrinkage.&dquo; Some types of waste, such as floor
sweeps, contain oil; and by adding kaolin (a clay
which absorbs the oil) to the stock prior to cleaning,
much of the oil can be removed along with the stem,
leaf, and dust. The delivered stock is brighter than
the stock fed but still contains some oil and kaolin.
In cleaning, about 35 % to 60% shrinkage occurs
when processing motes, and 15 % to 50% when proc-
essing floor sweeps. The cost of cleaning is about
l1;2Ø per lb.
696
Opening Hard Waste
Waste which is too hard for the mixing picker to
open must be handled in machines of heavier, more
rugged construction. Stock of this type includes
thread waste, rags, and clips and more violent action
is needed to convert these materials to fiber. The
pickers, garnetts, and shredders used for opening
hard waste will reduce practically any fabric, yarn,
or thread to a fibrous state.
1. Pick ers.-Several types of pickers are used for
opening hard waste. These operate on the same
principle as the mixing picker, but are of heavier
construction and work the stock more thoroughly.
The type of picker used is dependent on the open-
ness of the waste and on the type of process which is
to follow picking.
For yarn in which there is not too much twist, the
yarn waste picker is often used. This will reduce
cotton yarn waste to fiber suitable for garnetting or
carding. The average output of this machine is
about 100 lbs. per hr.
The rag or waste picker will open cotton rags and
clips and convert them into what is known as pick-
ered stock for subsequent processing on garnetting
and carding machines. The stock is sometimes used
as it comes from the rag picker for stuffing purposes.
The production from cotton rags of a 17-in. picker
ranges from 60 to 75 lbs. per hr.
The lumper picker, in addition to its opening func-
tion, is used for removing lumps or bits of unopened
material from pickered stock coming from the rag
picker. The lumps are discharged from the machine
by centrifugal force, the size of the lumps discharged
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FIG. 5. Photograph of wil-
Lozer, showing feed. ( Courtesy
Proctor & Schwartz, Inc.)
FIG. 6. Photograph of willow zerith top removed to
show beater. (Courtesy Proctor & Schwartz, Inc.)
being controlled by the position of a &dquo;bit-board&dquo;
placed over the feed rolls and the main cylinder.
These lumps are usually returned for repicking,
either by the lumper picker or the rag picker.
The fearnaught picker is intermediate in its con-
struction and in its action between the picker and the
garnett. Originally designed as an opener for cotted
fleece wools, it has been found to be capable of rough-
carding cotton waste, doing a more thorough job of
opening and blending than the mixing picker does.
The fearnaught picker is essentially a large cylinder
covered with metallic clothing, working in conjunc-
tion with a series of smaller rollers known as work-
ers. The combined action of the two separates all
tangled or matted bunches of wastes, and blends the
stock thoroughly.
2. Shredders.-Shredding machines are used for
opening waste materials where a greater degree of
working is required than is possible with a picker.
The cylinders of these machines are covered with

heavy metallic wiring. A picking action is given at
the feed rolls, followed by a rough carding operation
from several sets of workers.
Rag shredders are widely used in plants which
convert into thread waste such relatively open-weave
fabrics as hosiery waste, netting, ginghams, and
turkish toweling. For heavier rags, a beaker
shredder and one or more finisher shredders are used.
They are placed in tandem; each successive machine
is fed from its predecessor and is covered with finer
wire.
Hard waste breakers are shredding machines used
for finer types of work, such as knit fabrics and simi-
lar lightweight materials. The clothing on the cyl-
inders of these machines is finer than that on the rag
shredder. They are often used in place of rag pick-
ers before garnetting, since they preserve the staple
of the stock to a greater degree, require less power,
and will process larger quantities of waste at a lower
labor cost than is possible with pickers.
3. Garnetts.-The garnett is used for opening
medium-twist yarns and similar wastes, and for fur-
ther working of stock that has been opened by a
picker or shredder. The garnett is similar to the
shredder, consisting of feed rolls; a licker-in; 2 to 5
cylinders, each with its complement of workers and
strippers; a fancy roll; and a doff er. The action is
similar to that of a set of woolen cards, but is more
severe, since the various rolls are covered with gar-
nett wire instead of card clothing. The shrinkage
in garnetting is about 5 % to 8 % of the stock fed,
and the processing cost is about 3¢ per lb.
Waste Carding
The carding of cotton waste differs in several im-
portant respects from the carding of raw
Usually a set of two cards is used, including
breaker card and a finisher card. These cards are
frequently of the worker and stripper type, and in
this particular the carding of cotton waste resembles
woolen carding. The chief reasons for using the
worker and stripper type of card are twofold :
1. The revolving flat card is unable to work con-
tinuously on material of very short staple length, or
on material which is particularly dirty, matted, or
neppy, because the flat wire becomes choked with
fly and dirt.
2. The worker and stripper card is capable of pro-
ducing slivers of greater fullness and covering power.
Attachments which are standard on woolen cards
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697
are often found on cotton waste cards. These in-
clude metallic breasts for better opening of stock, a
fancy roll and doffer dickey for raising the stock to
the surface of the wire, and a conveyor, usually of
the camel-back type, for carrying the stock from the
breaker card to the finisher card.
Cotton waste cards are usually designed with
closed-in construction to minimize dust and fly waste,
and both standard card clothing and metallic cloth-
ing are used.
The delivery from the finisher card may be on the
woolen system, using either ring doffers or a tape
condenser, or the web may be condensed as sliver,
usually using 4 coilers.
Spinning
The system of double carding for cotton waste
eliminates drawing, and there is usually only one
process of roving between the cards and the spinning
frames. The spinning frame for waste yarns has roll
stands and cap bars especially designed for close
settings but is conventional in other respects. It is
necessary to reduce the draft when spinning waste
yarns, and double roving is always advisable.
A large volume of waste yarn in coarse counts is
spun directly on roving frames, and in England mule
spinning is still widely used.
Processing Special Products
to
1. Cotton Batting and Felt.-A cotton waste card
with suitable feeders and lappers may be used in the
manufacture of cotton batting or felt, absorbent cot-
’ ton, wadding, and similar products from various
kinds of soft cotton waste. However, the card has
been largely replaced by the garnett in making batts
cotton. for use in mattresses and for similar purposes.
a In a typical batt-making system the various stocks
used are fed first to a heavy-duty picker, where the
fibers are opened and given a preliminary blending.
The stock is next carried to a ceiling condenser and
then to a willow, where further cleaning and blending
take place. From the willow the stock is conveyed
to the hoppers which feed the garnetts. After gar-
netting, the carded webs are laid together and the
lappers at the end of each garnett move back and
forth over a cross conveyor to build up a finished
batt of the designed width and thickness. Multiple
webs, having been built up to provide a batt of the
correct thickness, are compressed, cut, and folded to
f orm the final batt.
698
The production on the latest type of batt-making
equipment is about 375 to 450 lbs. hourly, for aver-
age-run mattress batts.
2. Wiping M~M~.―Waste for wiping machinery
and for packing the journal boxes of railway cars is
made from numerous types of thread waste. Spin-
ning waste, bobbin waste, cop bottoms, and waste
from the winding, creeling, and weaving processes
are all utilized for these purposes.
The machine used for processing this waste is
known as a waste puller and resembles an ordinary
worker and stripper card but is much more strongly
built. In operation, the different types of stock are
laid out on the feed apron, which delivers the waste
to the feed rolls, where it is taken by the cylinder.
The cylinder carries it past 7 workers and strippers
the function of which is to open and straighten out
the tangles and lumps. A doffing roll removes the
stock from the cylinder and a pair of heavy delivery
rolls take it from the doff er in the form of a fleece,
which is wound on a mandrel by means of a pair of
winding drums and made up into rolls ready for
baling.
Utilization of Cotton Waste
No official data are available as to the quantities
of cotton waste consumed in most of its end uses, but
in Table IX the estimated consumption, for 1946, of
cotton waste and linters combined is given for some
of the more important industries which use these
products as raw material.
Typical end uses for various grades of cotton
waste are given in outline form in Table X. In most
of these uses, cotton waste may be processed either
alone or in a blend with raw cotton, linters, or other
fibers and wastes.
Analysis of Cotton Waste
The comparative contents of fiber andof foreign
interest to all con-
matter in cotton waste are of vital
cerned. The mill is interested in keeping to a mini-
mum the amount of usable fiber removed with the
motes, leaf, and trash, while the waste dealer and
the consumer are interested in knowing the amount
of foreign matter which they are purchasing with
their waste. The mill is constantly striving to keep
long fibers from being removed as waste; at the same
time, staple length is a determining factor in the use
to which the waste may be put by dealer or con-
sumer. Reported in the following pages is a de-
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TABLE IX. CONSUMPTIOIVT REQUIREMENTS OF COTTON
W% ASTE AND LINTERS BY INDUSTRIES,
UNITED STATES, 1946*
*
From trade sources.
tailed study of the fiber-foreign matter ratio and of
staple length measurements of typical cotton wastes.
There is also considerable interest in the nature
and extent of the damage which occurs to the cotton
fiber during the combing process, and the results of
an investigation of that problem are given here.
DeterJ1ltination Matter
of f Foreigx
by Shirley
Analyzer
The Shirley Analyzer, a laboratory machine devel-
oped at the Shirley Institute, Manchester, England,
provides an effective means for quantitative and qual-
itative analyses of foreign matter in cotton lint or
soft cotton waste. A photograph of the machine is
shown in Figure 7 and a schematic diagram in Fig-
ure 8. It consists of a feed table, feed roll, licker-in,
baffles, air blast, and condenser. Cotton waste is fed
slowly to the licker-in, and as the waste is broken up
the air stream carries the lint and light dust around
the bottom of a flow plate and up the condenser.
The light dust and extremely short fibers pass
through the holes of the condenser and are collected
in a fabric bag over the air exhaust outlet. The re-
maining clean lint is deposited on the condenser and
doffed into a lint-collecting chamber. Trash and
other heavy particles are separated out of the air
stream by gravity and drop into a chamber below.
By weighing these fractions, the composition of
the waste can be determined.
Shirley Analyzer tests were made on 147 samples,
which were obtained from various textile mills, waste
dealers, and waste processors in North Carolina,
South Carolina, and Georgia. The soft wastes
tested included card strips, card fly, vacuum strips,
 699

TABLE X. TYPICAL END USES OF COTTON WASTE BY GRADES

1
Hard threads blended with soft threads and garnetted.

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700
FIG. 7. Photograph of Shirley Analyzer.
(Courtesy Atkinson, Haserick & Co.)
picker motes, opener motes, bagging pickings, clearer,
dusthouse, flat strips, reworked strips, and comber
noils, which are the only grades that can be cleaned
by the Shirley Analyzer. Such grades as card-room
sweeps, spinning-room sweeps, weave-room sweeps,
and soft threads cannot be fed to the Shirley Anal-
yzer because they contain oil, grease, metal, bits of
wood, paper, etc. Hard waste, such as hard threads
and rags, also cannot be processed in the Shirley
Analyzer.
The grade and staple of the raw cotton from which
the waste samples were secured were known for the
samples from the cotton mills, but were not known for
the samples from the waste trade; thus the results
are given in separate tables. Recoverable fiber,
waste chamber droppings, and exhaust waste are
given as percentages of the stock fed (4 oz., or 1,750
grains). Table XI presents the results of the tests
for waste samples obtained from cotton mills, and
Table XII for waste samples from the waste dealers
and processors.
Graviv~2etric Analysis
In addition to the mechanical separation described
above, a procedure for the gravimetric determination
of foreign matter in cellulose fibers has been devised.
In this method a sample of fiber which contains for-
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FIG. 8. Schematic drawing of the Shirley Analyzer.
(Courtesy Atkinson, Haserick & Co.)
eign matter is heated at 115°C for 1~ hrs. in a porous
pot. The sample is then forced through a coarse sieve
and subsequently brushed through a U. S. No. 50
sieve. The residue on the 50-mesh sieve is weighed
and the value is expressed as a percentage of the orig-
inal weight. A reproducibility corresponding to a
maximum standard deviation of 0.1% is claimed.
Only foreign matter that is too coarse to pass a 50-
mesh sieve is recovered, and no corrections for mois-
ture variation are made.
Determination of Staple Length by Suter-Webb
Array
Further tests have been made to determine the ap-
proximate staple length of each grade of waste, using
the Suter-Webb fiber sorter, which is shown in Fig-
ure 9. A representative 75-mg. sample of cotton
waste is parallelized through a series of combs, where
the fibers are separated and arrayed according to
length. The different length groups, at ~-in. inter-
vals, are measured and weighed for three length ar-
rays, and the averages obtained are reported for the
upper quartile length, the mean length, and the co-
efficient of variation. The upper quartile length, in
inches, is the average length of the longest 25% of
the fibers in the sample. The mean lezzgth, in inches,
is the average length of all the fibers in the sample,
as determined from the weight-length data. (Class-
er’s length is approximately equal to 1.08 multiplied
by the mean length). The coefficient of variation, in
percent, indicates the degree of uniformity or irregu-
larity of the fiber lengths; the smaller this value, the
more uniform is the cotton waste with respect to fiber
length, and vice versa.
 701

TABLE XI. SHIRLEY ANALYZER TESTS ON COTTON WASTE FROM MILLS GIVING STOCK FEDl AS 100% AND RECOVERABLE
FIBER DELIVERED, WASTE CHAMBER DROPPINGS, AND EXHAUST WASTE AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE STOCK FED

1 4 oz., or 1,750 grains, fed to Shirley Analyzer.

2
Cleaned fiber delivered by Shirley Analyzer.
3
Mostly vegetable matter such as motes, neps, stem, etc.
4 Dust and extremely short fibers; includes invisible waste.

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702

TABLE XII. SHIRLEY ANALYZER TESTS ON COTTON BVASTEl FROM THE WASTE TRADE’ GIVING STOCK FED’ AS 100% AND
RECOVERABLE FIBER DELIVERED, WASTE CHAMBER DROPPINGS, AND EXHAUST WASTE AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE STOCK FED

1 Grade and staple of cotton from which waste was derived not known.
2
Waste dealers and processors.
3 4 oz., or 1,750 grains, fed to Shirley Analyzer.
4
Cleaned fiber delivered by Shirley Analyzer.
5
Mostly vegetable matter such as motes, neps, stem, etc.
6
Dust and extremely short fibers; includes invisible waste.

Arrays were made of card

strips, card fly, picker to 11/2 in.
Staple lengths for the different grades of
motes, opener motes, bagging pickings, clearer, flat waste given in Table XIII.
are

strips, comber noils, and reworked strips. All of these
samples were received directly from the mills where
the waste was produced. Arrays were not made on
samples received from waste dealers and processors
because the grade and the staple of the cotton from
which they came were not known. As indicated in
Table XIII, mills 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, and 11 produced
carded goods, while mills 14 and 15 produced combed
goods. The cotton used by these 9 mills was princi-
pally middling cotton, with staple ranging from 1 in.
Bagging pickings had the best uniformity. Such
grades as card strips, picker motes, and flat strips had
better uniformity than reworked strips, opener motes,
comber noils, card fly, and clearer. Detailed data for
each array are given in Table XIII.
Fiber Length Distribution in Card Wastes
An investigation into the actions of the cotton card,
made several years ago by a textile machinery manu-
facturer, produced some interesting information con-

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 703

FIG. 9. Suter-Webb Duplex Cot-

ton Fiber Sorter avcd accessories.
(Courtesy Alfred Suter.)

TABLE XIII. STAPLE OF VARIOUS TYPES OF COTTON WASTE1

1
Suter-Webb tests. Based on one determination for each sample. Tests made by Textile Testing Section, Analytical
and Physical Division, Southern Regional Research Laboratory. For recoverable-fiber data for these samples see Table XI.

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704

FIG. 10. Fiber array dia-

grains of the card wastes
from a 1lrin. 11Z’iddling cot-
ton. The shaded portion rep-
resents tlle 100clo fiber array
of a waste product, super-
imposed in each case on the
100% fiber array of the card
sliver. ( Courtesy Saco-Lowell
Shops. )

Fm. 11. Fiber array diagrams of the card wastes frowc a 1-in. middling Brazilian Paulista cottoz2. The shaded
portion represents the 100% fiber array of a waste product, superimposed in each case on the 100% fiber array ’

of the card sliver. (Courtesy Saco-Lowell Shops.)

cerning fiber length distribution in the various card be strikingly similar to the fiber array of the card
wastes. As would be expected, all of these wastes are sliver, particularly in the percentage of longer fibers
of shorter staple length than the card sliver. How- present.
ever, in the wastes which comprise the bulk of the A comparison between the area under the card
fiber removed by the card-namely, flat, cylinder, and sliver array curve and the areas under the waste array
doffer strips-the differences in fiber length distribu- curves, and of the staple lengths, as shown in Table
tions are slight. This is graphically illustrated by XIV, emphasizes the similarity of fiber length dis-
the fiber array diagrams shown in Figures 10 and 11. tribution. The conclusion is that in accomplishing
In these diagrams, the shaded portion represents a its cleaning, segregating, and blending actions the
100% fiber array of a waste product superimposed on card removes fibers of very nearly the same length
the 100% fiber array of the card sliver. The fiber ar- distribution as those which constitute the card
rays of the flat, cylinder, and doffer strips are seen to sliver.

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TABLE XIV. FIBER LENGTH DISTRIBUTION
IN CARD WASTES
1 Ratio of area under waste array curve to area
sliver array curve.
2 Staple length-1.08 X mean length.
Fiber Damage in Combing
As previously mentioned, a change occurs as a re-
sult of the combing of cotton fiber which lowers its
spinnability. Comber noils spin very poorly when
used alone, and 50% is usually the maximum amount
that can be spun in a blend with raw cotton without
excessive difficulty.
Mill men agree that comber noils have poor spin-
nability but they are divided in their opinions as to
the reasons for it. Some hold that the natural wax
present on cotton fibers is removed during combing,
but attempts to determine the validity of this belief
have so far been unsuccessful. Others feel that the
stretching and straightening of individual cotton fibers
in the comber remove the convolutions normally pres-
ent and leave the fibers flat and untwisted. To deter-
mine whether this latter supposition has any basis in
fact, a number of cotton fibers were examined micro-
scopically. Samples taken from the same lot of cot-
ton before and after combing were mounted in min-
eral oil and the fiber convolutions were inspected. No
significant difference could be found in either the
number or the character of the convolutions. From,
tests on a limited number of samples, it appears that
the convolutions of the noil fibers are not affected by
the combing process.
Waste Reduction and Control
Many cotton mills have long been conscious of the
need for close control of the amount of manufacturing
waste produced. These mills have determined the
minimum amount of waste which may be removed
from cotton without reducing the quality of their
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705
products and they strive constantly to keep waste per-
centages this minimum.
near
Other mills, a much larger number, are aware of
the importance of the problem but have no continuous
program for keeping waste under close control.
These mills tackle the problem from time to time when
their figures for waste become sufficiently high to
make it imperative that reductions be made. When
attention is again relaxed, the waste percentage soon
returns to its former level.
Mills of another group, smaller in number, keep in-
accurate waste records or none at all. Their only
concern is to get rid of the waste as soon as possible,
under
for the best price obtainable. These mills regard
waste as an unavoidable expense which is included in
the cost of manufacturing yarn and fabric. While
this is true to some extent, the mill which keeps waste
at a minimum is certainly in a better competitive
position.
Cost of Waste to the Cotton Mill
The net cost to a mill of the raw cotton which it
processes is increased by the fraction removed as
waste, after allowance for the return received from
sale of the waste. In Table XV, the net cost of a
pound of cotton in 1948 to a carded yarn mill using
middling 16-in. cotton is illustrated. The amounts of
total waste and of individual types of waste produced
are expressed as portions of an assumed gross weight
of 1 lb. of cotton fed into process. The cost of each
fraction is also given. Similar figures are listed in
Table XVI for a combed yarn mill using strict mid-
dling 1 g-in. cotton.
These figures do not show the full extent of the
mills’ loss from waste, but only the loss incurred in
increased raw material cost. The total cost of waste
would of necessity include the cost of labor and of the
other factors involved in processing the cotton to the
point where it became waste, the cost of handling and
disposing of the waste, and the cost and loss of quality
which are corollary to reprocessing the portion re-
turned to the production line.
Waste Control Progran2s
The mill saves money in three ways by reducing
waste:
1. For each reduction made in the amount of manu-
facturing waste, a corresponding saving is made in
net raw material cost. In a mill using thousands of
706

TABLE XV. NET COST OF ~VASTE-FREE COTTON PER POUND AND COTTON WASTE BY GRADES
FOR A CARDED YARN MILL,’ 1948

1
Produces mostly yarn, but small quantities of fabric.
2 Gross weight used at mill. Does not refer to net weight of waste-free cotton.
3 Based on data from carded yarn mill. Converted from percent to weight by multiplying the waste percentage of each
grade by 1 lb. of cotton fed into process.
4 Based on price data from the same carded yarn mill, f.o.b. mill.
5
Processing loss multiplied by selling price for each grade of waste.
6 Delivered-at-mill
price of middling 1 is-in. cotton, Memphis territory, monthly average for 1948, as reported in &dquo; Cotton
Price Statistics,&dquo; P.M.A., U.S.D.A.
7
The cost of each waste grade in terms of the raw cotton price is determined by multiplying the price of middling 1 is-in.
cotton by the processing loss for each grade of waste.
8 Cost of total waste and each waste
grade in terms of the raw cotton price less the return from all waste produced and from
each individual grade. _

9 Price of middling 1 ¡B-in. cotton less return from waste (hence, cost of .8438 lb. of waste-free cotton).
Net cost of 1 lb. of waste-free cotton (36.190 divided by the weight, .8438 lb., of waste-free cotton).
11 includes small amount of extraneous material such as bobbins, paper, metal, oil, grease, etc., introduced into the waste
during processing.

bales of cotton annually, this is a considerable item.
2. The labor needed to process the stock to the
point where it becomes waste is less with each reduc-
tion in waste, and the labor involved in handling large
volumes of waste is also reduced.
3. The quality of its product is increased at a low
unit cost. This applies particularly to reworkable or
white waste, because each additional process through
which the cotton passes causes additional fiber dam-
age. Weakened fibers cause an increase in the num-

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 707

TABLE XVI. NET COST OF WASTE-FREE COTTON PER POUND AND COTTON WASTE BY
GRADES FOR A COMBED YARN MILL, 1948

1
Gross weight used at mill. Does not refer to net weight of waste-free cotton.
2 Based on data from a combed yarn mill. Converted from percent to weight by multiplying the waste percentage of each
grade by 1 lb. of cotton fed into process.
3
Approximate price. Based on data from a waste broker who handled the mill’s entire waste production.
4
Processing loss multiplied by selling price for each grade of waste.
5
Delivered-at-mill price of strict middling 1’-in. cotton, Memphis territory, monthly average for 1948 as reported in
&dquo;Cotton Price Statistics,&dquo; P.M.A., U.S.D.A.
The cost of each grade in terms of the raw cotton price is determined by multiplying the price of strict middling 1 i-in.
cotton by the processing loss for each grade of waste.
7 Cost of total waste
and each waste grade in terms of the raw cotton price less the return from all waste produced and
from each individual grade.
8 Price of strict
middling 18-in. cotton less return from waste (hence, cost of .7209 lb. of waste-free cotton).
9 Net cost of 1 lb. of
waste-free cotton (35.45i divided by the weight, .7209 lb., of waste-free cotton).
io
Includes small amount of extraneous material such as bobbins, paper, metal, oil, grease, etc., introduced into the waste
during processing.

ber of ends down in both spinning and weaving, with
a resulting loss in quality and efficiency. The higher
employee morale which results from better running
work may be considered as part of this saving al-
though it is not assessable in dollars and cents.
In most mills there are few places where a large
saving can be made in any one particular type of
waste as a result of a program of waste reduction and
control. Usually a substantial saving is made only
by effecting a number of relatively small improve-
ments made in all types of processing which form
waste in the mill. However, savings of as much as
1 % or 2%, or even more in some classifications, are
not uncommon.
Since present cotton manufacturing processes and
ing effort by all mill personnel working according to
a carefully planned program.
The following paragraphs present a brief discussion
of the more important systems and methods around
which a comprehensive program of waste reduction
and control may be organized.
1. Proper Adjustment of Machinery.-The ma-
chinery used in a mill, particularly in the opening
and picking departments, and any special devices or
attachments to the machinery, have an appreciable ef-
fect on the percentages of waste made. Normally,
mill personnel have only limited influence in the se-
lection of the type and variety of equipment. How-
ever, the speeds and settings of whatever machines
are used can be closely controlled, and these exert a

normal cotton grades yield a certain amount of waste,
the aim of programs for waste reduction and control
is to minimize the amount of spinnable fiber which
is removed with the dust, leaves, motes, and other
foreign matter. To accomplish this requires continu-
great influence on the quantity and type of manufac-
turing waste produced.
A detailed discussion of the effect of various ma-
chine settings and of the optimum settings for the
numerous grades and staple lengths of cotton is be-

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708

yond the scope of this paper. However, a secondhands have &dquo;come up the hard way&dquo; and until
few re-
marks of general application to opening, picking, and had always earned their living by skilled
promoted
carding, where the great bulk of waste is produced, labor. Their training and experience as card grind-
can be made. ers and loomfixers has usually been adequate, but

Within reasonable limits, closer machine settings rarely have they had experience or training in the su-
result in more waste. An increase in waste is ob- pervising of employees or of production. Second,
tained, for example, with closer beater-to-grid bar the many routine duties of the overseer and second-
settings on the Buckley or horizontal opener and hand leave them little time to study the problem of
with closer beater-to-feed-roll and grid-bars-to-beater waste, and still less time to plan for its effective re-
settings on the pickers. The reverse, however, is duction and control.
true with the front-plate-to-cylinder setting on the Top management, of course, periodically calls the
card, where a closer setting results in a reduction of attention of supervisors to the losses incurred from
waste in the form of flat strips. A study made of the waste. The drive for a reduction in waste which re-
effect on waste of this latter setting showed that more sults causes the waste production curve to dip sharply,
waste is produced with wide settings, the differences but it quickly returns to its former level as the atten-
between total amounts of waste ranging from 0.1% tion of supervisors is relaxed by the press of other
to 1.1 °/o . duties. Since sporadic attempts to effect a reduction
Increases in speed of the beater and feed roll of the in waste result in only temporary improvement, it is
picker and of the cleaning members (cylinder, licker- apparent that a planned program of waste control is
in, and flats) of the card will result in a higher per- necessary which provides for a systematic and con-
centage of total waste removed. Increasing card pro- tinuous follow-up. The key to the success of such a
duction by increasing doffer speed or by using a program is the understanding and cooperation of de-
heavier lap will result in a decrease in total card partment overseers and secondhands. Their train-
waste. However, increasing production by means of ing therefore must be the first step taken when a
an increase in over-all card speeds, which causes a waste reduction and control program is initiated.
proportionate increase in the speed of the cleaning During the hours of training for this program, the
members, will result in higher total waste percentages. overseer or secondhand must be free to concentrate
In the study mentioned above, it was found that an on the waste problem, and so must be relieved of his

increase in cylinder speed alone or in flat speed alone regular duties.

is reflected by an increased amount of waste. In the The first step in training is to make the production
latter case, the higher speeds produce flat strips con- supervisors conscious of what waste means to the
taining a lower of
percentage foreign matter, indicat- mill. The amount of waste made and its cost to the
ing removal of a greater percentage of good cotton. mill, as well as its effect on quality of product and on
It is not meant to imply by the foregoing that ma- profits, must be emphasized. The adverse effect of
chine settings and speeds may be manipulated at will excessive waste on the mill’s competitive position
without regard to other factors. The leaf, motes, and should be stressed, with its consequent hazard to the
other foreign matter present in raw cotton must be re- employee’s pay and job security.
moved, and their removal inevitably results in the The various conditions and practices which result
loss of some quantity of cotton fiber. Machine set- in waste should be thoroughly understood by every
tings must reflect the staple length and character of overseer and secondhand. A good plan is to have
the cotton being run; the loss of good cotton fiber each production supervisor make a detailed study of
can be minimized, however, by machine settings and a waste problem in his own department. The figures
speeds which are optimum for the cotton being proc- on volume and cost which he finds for himself will be
essed. much more impressive than any figures compiled by
2. Supervisor Education and Training.-It has management. This personal approach to a specific
been observed that in most mills overseers and sec- waste problem will interest the overseer or second-
ondhands do not realize the amount of waste made, hand in following up the analysis by planning a solu-
the cost of waste to the mill, or that a definite system tion to the problem.
for reducing waste is possible. This lack stems prin- A training program for supervisors such as has
cipally from two causes. First, most overseers and been briefly outlined here can often be developed and

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conducted by the mill’s own personnel. This service
is also offered by several reputable firms which spe-
cialize in consulting on waste problems.
3. Employee Education and Training.-Since ma-
chines, if properly set and maintained, will produce
an amount of waste which is consistent with the grade
of cotton being run, the employee in the final analysis
is the most important single factor determining the
amount of a mill’s loss on waste. Mill men are agreed
that about 95 % of excessive waste is caused by care-
less or poorly trained personnel, and only 5 % by ma-
chinery. Many believe that most of this 5,o may be
traced to improper settings and careless maintenance.
It is the duty of the supervisor to see that the em-
ployee is so instructed in his job that he is conscious
of the need for keeping waste at a minimum as a
standard procedure, and not merely during periodic
waste drives. Human nature being what it is, the
average employee will not voluntarily or consistently
work to keep waste at a minimum unless he is waste-
conscious. This being so, all levels of management,
from the president of the company through the de-
partment foremen and secondhands, must insist on
strict and continuing adherence to established stand-
ards for waste reduction and control.
The employee may be compelled to cooperate in a
campaign to reduce waste, or he may be taught to co-
operate willingly. The cooperation which is forced
on an employee is never as efficient in reducing waste
as the cooperation which is attained through educa-
tion and training. Unwilling employees will only ob-
serve proper procedures while the supervisor is look-
ing ; reductions in waste made under these conditions
will be small and hard-won. If the employee’s co-
operation is to be obtained, he must be shown that
waste reduction is in his own best interest. Emphasis
on his own pay and job security will be far more ef-
fective than a recital of the losses which the mill suf-
fers from waste. Some employees may be concerned
about the reduction in quality which results from re-
working waste, but many more will be concerned
about the increase in job load that results from the
greater number of ends down in spinning and
weaving.
Many mills have found that competition in reduc-
ing waste is successful in stimulating employee inter-
est and cooperation. At one Southern mill, daily
waste figures are posted for each department, and
considerable rivalry has developed among different
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709
departments and among different shifts in the same
department.
While a training program which involves educating
employees to become waste-conscious may seem at
first glance to require great effort without commensu-
rate returns, practical experience has proved other-
wise. The time spent on such a program is more than
repaid in decreased cost to the mill for waste, im-
proved quality of product, and strengthened employee
morale.
4. Waste Records and Reports.-It is impossible
to set standards and to maintain a control system un-
less adequate waste records and reports are available.
Most mills maintain a more or less thorough system
of records, but great improvement can often be made.
Frequently as many as a hundred people are respon-
sible for weighing and recording weights on three-
shift operation. Several pairs of scales are often used,
and these are frequently not checked and calibrated.
Tare weights marked on containers for waste may be
incorrect. In some cases not all waste being made is
weighed, or not all waste tickets are recorded. If such
conditions prevail, the time spent collecting figures on
waste percentages is largely wasted.
To obtain reliable figures and establish sound con-
trols, production and waste figures should be com-
bined, and the total should closely approximate the
raw material input of each department. As an inter-
esting by-product of recording such figures, valuable
additional information is sometimes obtained. An
excessive number of spindles may be found to be idle,
or the existence of hank clock padding and similar
practices may be brought to light.
5. Standards and Tolerances.-In order to plan
intelligently a program for waste reduction and con-
trol a mill must first know what minimum waste per-
centage it may reasonably expect to reach. A waste
standard should therefore be set up, with minimum
and maximum tolerance limits. The waste standard
which the mill sets as a goal can be determined only
on the basis of records, obtained by use of an ade-
quate waste reporting system, which reflect past
experience.
Standards should be set for each classification of
waste made by the mill. When the waste for a given
period in any classification exceeds the tolerance lim-
its, an investigation can immediately be made to de-
termine the cause. If the waste in any classification
consistently goes beyond either the maximum or the
710
minimum limits, and if investigation shows good
waste practice to be in effect, it may be advisable to
revise the standards.
The characteristic appearance of waste from a
given machine used in processing a given grade of
cotton is soon learned by experience, but it is advisa-
ble to prepare specimen boxes to be used as estab-
lished visual standards for each classification of waste.
The waste standard should not be set too low, par-
ticularly at the start of a control program. Attempt-
ing to reduce waste percentages to lower than reason-
able levels may incite employees to conceal the actual
amount of waste made: waste may be flus’Zed down
toilets, thrown out windows, taken home, or placed in
another department.
When a control program was first started in one
Southern mill, the old-timers there said that the only
result would be to stop up all the sewers in town.
However, good employee cooperation was obtained by
attempting only reasonable reductions and stressing
the employee’s stake in these reductions.
6. Handling and Sorting Waste.-While proper
handling and sorting of waste will not reduce its
quantity, substantial reductions can be made in the
amount of labor required, and the value of the waste
as a salable item can be increased.
Since large quantities of waste are produced in most
mills, it is essential to utilize modern materials han-
dling devices, such as chutes, air suction, and convey-
ors, instead of the old-fashioned and costly truck-
pushing methods.
The market value of waste can be considerably en-
hanced if the various classifications are kept carefully
segregated. For example, although flat strips are
utilized in different end uses and have more commer-
cial value than vacuum strips, many mills still pack
flat and vacuum strips together. Usually when two
or more classifications of waste are packed together,
the price received for the lot will be based on the price
of the least valuable fraction.
Remnants have a sale value at least four or five
times that of rags, but many mills mix rags and
remnants indiscriminately. To command the higher
price of remnants, these shorter pieces should be 4 yd.
or more in length, and must be packed flat. Oily,
dirty, and misdyed remnants also have a higher value
than rags, if properly classified and packed. Simi-
larly, medium and coarse plied yarns 30 in. or longer
will be worth at least 100 a lb. more if packed as mop
yarn instead of thread waste.
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Floor sweeps undoubtedly give the most trouble
to waste dealers. It is not unusual to find any of lit-
erally dozens of items of mill equipment and other
foreign matter in this type of waste: rubber cots,
buckles, travelers, bobbins, oily rags, spindles, metal
rings, cellophane, bottle caps, etc. Frequently, dam-
age to garnetts, wiping-waste machinery, and other
equipment is caused by these contaminants. Some of
them, such as rubber cots, can render a mixture of
8,000-10,000 lbs. of waste nearly worthless. Elimi-
nation of these contaminants would save a tremendous
expense for sorting and preparation and the waste
would bring a greater return. These items are pres-
ent often enough that some dealers are reported to
sort the mill equipment and resell it to the mills.
The standard allowance for bagging and ties on a
bale of waste is 7 % . For grades of waste having
greater value than the bagging and ties used to bale
them, it is to the mill’s advantage to use the full al-
lowance, whereas for grades of less value only enough
should be used to make the bale acceptable to the
dealer.
The mixing of wastes of different colors, and par-
ticularly of white and colored wastes, reduces the
price received from dealers. However, if it is not pos-
sible to keep wastes of different colors separated, it is
usually not economical to sort them for any but the
largest mills.
7. Special Devices.-Many devices orattachments
available for cotton processing equipment reduce
waste either as their principal function or incidental
to their operation:
(a) Card-Fly Separator: The separator is an at-
tachment for the card, consisting essentially of
two vertical blades connected to a separator
screen, and an additional mote knife to afford
extra cleaning. The attachment keeps the
licker-in fly waste separate from motes,
thereby permitting recovery of spinnable fiber
from waste which sells at low prices. It
is claimed that the value of the waste is thus
enhanced to bring 60% to 65% of the price
of 1-in. middling cotton.
(b) Pneumafil: Pneumafil is a device for remov-
ing broken ends on the spinning frame by air
suction. It is claimed that it increases front
roll speed on the frames and reduces ends
down. However, of four mills which recently
reported their experience with Pneumafil none
had increased roll speeds, three reported con-
 711

siderable increases in scavenger waste, and will be less accurate, in direct proportion to the size
none had found significant reduction in num- of sample.
ber of ends down. Waste tests are not routine mill procedure but may
(c) Continuous Stripping: Recovery of spinnable occasionally be needed-for example, .when the grade
fiber ranging from 1 % to 2%, depending on of cotton processed is changed or when a waste con-
grade, is reported with the use of continuous trol program is initiated. In research they are valu-
card stripping. This recovery is said to result able in the study of the effect on waste percentages
from the elimination of roller stripping, which of the various cotton qualities, mechanical handling,
removes spinnable fiber as well as short-length and processes.
fibers. A sketch of a continuous stripper is To insure the accuracy of test results, a few pre-
shown in Figure 12. cautions must be observed. Since waste tests are
(d) Automatic Knock-Off : Less bobbin-tail waste based on gross weight, all bales must be carefully
and less feeler waste at the loom are reported weighed before being laid down, and must be thor-
with filling yarns spun on frames equipped oughly conditioned at the temperature and relative
with automatic knock-offs. Uniformly filled humidity at which they are to be run. The machines
bobbins from doff to doff and shorter yarn to be used should first be stripped and thoroughly
tails of uniform length account for the im- cleaned, and all waste removed. Lap pins and con-
provements. tainers to be used should be tared. If a vacuum strip-
8. Waste Tests.-Essentially, a waste test involves per is used, the tank should be emptied before and
processing carefully weighed amount of raw cotton
a after stripping the test cards. At the completion of
and determining the weight of each product and each the test, the percentages of waste made in each cate-
waste fraction obtained from the processed stock. In gory, including invisible waste, should be computed.
running a test to determine waste percentages, at A check on changes in weight caused by relative hu-
least 2,500 lbs. of raw cotton is required for a repre- midity variations may be made by keeping a small
sentative sample. A test made using a lesser amount sample of cotton near the stock being processed, and
noting any change of weight which occurs in this
sample.
The test procedure outlined above gives results in
terms of total waste removed, without differentiating
between cotton fiber and foreign matter. If desired,
this differentiation can be made by use of the Shirley
Analyzer.
Research Opportunities
considering the opportunities which cotton
In
waste research may offer to textile mills and to the
waste industry, it must be realized that the problems
involved often parallel or coincide with those of the
raw cotton industry. For example, fibers of greater

luster or resilience than those commonly found in

cotton waste would be desirable in several end uses.
However, research programs have been initiated to
improve these qualities in raw cotton, and any findings
will be equally applicable to cotton waste. It must
also be borne in mind that cotton waste is a raw ma-
terial of low unit value; therefore if research on it
is to be practical, it must add little or nothing to the
Fm. 12. Continuous card stripper, sl2owing (A)
cost of the waste or to the cost of processing.
rotor, (B) needles. The continuous stripper replaces
the back knife plate of the card, working betzveen the Hence, the waste problems on which research
ticker-in and the flats. (Courtesy Saco-Lowell Shops.) would be of benefit to the whole industry are: (1)

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712
improvement in control of waste removal in mill
processing, (2) more efficient cleaning of waste, par-
ticularly of the lower grades, and (3) improvement
in the properties of the waste cotton which are de-
sired for specific uses.
1. Mill Processing
A thorough study of the optimum machine settings
for the most efficient removal of waste is needed.
For example, it has been found that about one-third
of the licker-in waste produced could have been taken
out as card strips, which have a much higher resale
value. This study should include a survey of the
whole cotton yarn manufacturing process, in order
to determine where waste should be removed to
bring the greatest return to the mill in terms of value
of waste and quality of product.
A closely related problem is the removal of spin-
nable fiber with the leaf, motes, and trash, which is
particularly important in the case of card strips. It
has been demonstrated that the fiber arrays of the
flat, cylinder, and doffer strips are strikingly similar
to the fiber array of the card sliver, particularly in
the percentage of longer fibers present. Since card
strips represent nearly one-quarter of net waste pro-
duction, and considerably more in terms of fiber re-
moved, an opportunity for real savings lies in elimi-
nating the removal of spinnable fiber as waste.
In order to maintain efficient control of waste pro-
duction, a quick and accurate method of making fiber
arrays would be helpful. Mills could then keep closer
check on the fiber length distributions of their waste.
The present methods are either slow, too costly, or
do not yield sufficient information.
’
2. Cleaning of Waste
Cotton waste, particularly of the lower grades, is
characteristically dirty and full of trash. In addition,
sweeps frequently contain items of mill equipment,
and other foreign objects such as bobbins, travelers,
paper, bottle caps, and the like. Obviously, a quick,
cheap method for separating fiber from other matter
would do more than anything else to increase the
value of waste. Research on this problem is already
under way in connection with that on the cleaning of
cotton fiber both at the gin and in preliminary proc-
essing at the mill. Although oil and sizing are pres-
ent on some types, cotton waste is, in general, more
open than is raw cotton as received at the mill, be-
cause of the processing which it has already received.
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It is conceivable, therefore, that efficient cleaning of
most cotton waste might be a simpler and cheaper
process than the cleaning of raw cotton. Accord-
ingly, attention should be paid to determining
whether different cleaning processes are possible.
At the present time, the debris found in sweeps can
.
be removed only by hand-sorting. An economical
method is needed for removing this debris before wil-
lowing, not only to eliminate costly hand-sorting but
also to prevent damage to machinery.
3. Quality Improvement
It has long been recognized that some change oc-
curs in the cotton fiber during processing, with the
result that such wastes as card strips and comber
noils are less spinnable than raw cotton. Not more
than 50% of comber noils, for example, can be used
in blends with cotton for spinning More knowledge
of the nature of the difference between processed fi-
ber and raw fiber is required as the basis on which to
judge potential usefulness and to devise a method for
improving the spinnability of such wastes as card
strips and comber noils. This problem also concerns
the usefulness of the cotton in the final products,
since the same changes have certainly occurred in
those fibers which are not removed as waste.
Manufacturers of high-quality paper have found
that processed fibers are more readily pulped into
paper than is raw cotton. Shorter times are required
in the beater and the resulting product is more sat-
isfactory. If an improved cleaning system for cotton
waste could be devised which would remove com-
pletely twigs, seed particles, and other woody matter
which is so dxfficult to dissolve in the pulping proc-
ess, cotton waste might find an extensive market in
the paper-making industry. The same characteristics
which make cotton waste a potential raw inaterial for
paper may also render it useful for the manufacture
of vulcanized fiber. Manufacturers of both these
products have preferred to use rags as a source of
processed fiber, since they are cleaner and can be ob-
tained at a lower cost than the better grades of waste.
With the rag supply becoming less satisfactory be-
cause of the presence of synthetic fibers which cannot
be processed into paper or vulcanized fiber, additional
sources of high-grade cellulosic fiber are needed.
Here again the chief requirement is an improved
cleaning system for cotton waste, although some ex-
tra processing of the fiber might be required to make
it completely satisfactory for vulcanized fiber. Some

appraisal of these markets as outlets for cotton waste
appears to be justified, although expenditure of only
modest amounts would be warranted in view of the
cheapness of suitable rags.
Summary
In 1948, the mills of the United States produced
642,000,000 lbs. of cotton waste of all types, with a
value at the mill of $71,000,000. The average carded
yarn mill removes as waste about 15% of the
cotton entered into production, including bale ties
and bagging, while the average combed yarn mill re-
moves about 30~0. Some 70% of total cotton waste
production is fiber, the remainder consisting of motes,
bits of leaf and stem, dust, and other foreign matter.
The majority of mills dispose of their cotton waste
by sale on contract to a waste dealer. About 13%
of the total production of cotton waste, particularly
of the higher grades, is produced and used in the
same plant. There are no industry-wide standard
grades for cotton waste; it is usually classified ac-
cording to the manufacturing process in the plant
where the waste originates.
As might be expected, the staple length of the
fibers in the lower grades of waste is found to be
much shorter than that of the original cotton. How-
ever, fiber length distributions of the better grades
of waste, particularly card flat and cylinder strips, are
not significantly different from that of the card sliver.
In a typical carded yarn mill in 1948, the cost of
raw material eliminated as waste was about 4.5 ¢ per
lb. of cotton processed. Labor costs in processing
and handling would increase this figure slightly.
Many cotton mills have initiated programs for waste
reduction and control, with special emphasis placed
on the training of employees and supervisors. These
mills have established strict standards for waste, and
are utilizing the most efficient handling and sorting
techniques to keep unnecessary waste at the lowest
minimum consistent with high quality and smooth
operation.
Cotton waste prices ranged in 1948 from less than
11 per lb. to as much as 240, depending on type.
Dealers have no means of hedging waste purchases,
as is done with cotton, since there is no futures
market on which to trade.
Cotton waste competes with cotton, cotton linters,
rayon, rayon waste, wool, wool waste, foam rubber,
and numerous other fibers, wastes, and inorganic ma-
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713
terials. Of these, cotton and cotton linters are the
most important.
Before cotton waste can be utilized as a raw ma-
terial it must first be cleaned, and in some cases
opened or converted to a fibrous state on special
equipment. End uses for cotton waste range from
mattress felts to stuffing for toys, from mop yarns to
tobacco shade cloth. Cotton waste may be spun
alone, but is more often used in blends with raw cot-
raw ton or with other fibers.
Research to improve the separation of fiber from
other waste ingredients, research to reduce the
amount of fiber removed as waste, and research to
improve testing and control measures used by mills
appear to offer the greatest opportunity for yielding
results of benefit to the textile industry.
Glossary
Bagging-A very heavy fabric used for covering
cotton bales. Open-weave bagging made from new
and rewoven jute cuttings, rerolled or repaired bur-
lap, and sugar-bag cloth are the principal bale cover-
ing materials.
Bag pickings-Cotton picked from the bale cover-
ing or from the sides of bales. Bag pickings are usu-
ally dirty, and frequently damaged. Contaminants
often present are jute fibers, ink markings, rust
stains, oil spots, water-damaged cotton, and tar spots.
This waste may be hand-picked at the mill, the good
fiber being returned to production. Bag pickings
sold to waste dealers are usually sorted and willowed
before further processing.
Bale ties-The steel straps used to bind cotton
bales. Bale ties are frequently reused, but if in bad
condition are sold for scrap. Ties are not required
with round bales; however, only about 2 /o of Amer-
ican cotton production is put up in this form.
Card fly-Short fibers removed in carding, prin-
cipally by the licker-in, the main cylinder, and the
doffer. The better grades of fly are often fed back
into production at the back of the pickers. The lower
grades are willowed before further processing. In
willowing there is a shrinkage of 30 % to 75 % .
C ard-rOO1n sweeps- BVaste swept from the floor of
the card room. It is composed mostly of lint of a
fluffy nature, but also contains such foreign matter as
stem, leaf, motes, dust, oil, grease, paper, metal, vvood,
cellophane, and bottle ’caps. Card sweeps must be
hand-sorted and willowed to remove nonfibrous mat-
ter. Kaolin, added to the stock to soak up the oil,
714
is largely removed in the willowing process. Sort-
ing and willowing together cause a shrinkage of 15%
to 50%.
Card strips-Fibers removed from the cylinder,
doffer, and flats of the card in the various stripping
operations. Card strips, which include a relatively
small amount of nonfibrous matter, are of staple long
enough to be spinnable. Cotton waste dealers sub-
classify card strips according to the type of cotton
from which they are derived, as, for example, Peeler
strips, Sak strips, and Upland strips. The term
&dquo;Peeler&dquo; was formerly used to designate a particular
variety of cotton, but now refers to all long-staple
Upland cottons. Similarly, the waste trade uses the
term &dquo;Sak strips&dquo; for card strips from any Egyptian
cotton, although Sakellarides (usually shortened to
&dquo;Sak&dquo;) is now a minor variety, little used in the
United States. If the strips have been removed from
the card by the vacuum method of stripping, they
are so designated; e.g., Peeler vacuum strips.
Cleayer-( 1 ) Card clearer-Very short fibers
which accumulate on the flannel-covered roll at the
opening of the junction of the feed roll and the licker-
in cover of the card.
(2) Spi~vciiag clearer-Fibers which accumulate
on the roll or flat surface of the device used to collect
short fibers from the rolls of a drawing, roving, or
spinning frame.
Covvtber noils-Fibers, nearly free of foreign mat-
ter, removed in the process of combing. Comber
noils are blended with raw cotton in the production
of a wide variety of yarns and fabrics. The amount
of noils removed in combing varies from 10% to 30%
of the net weight of cotton fed; the average for the
combed yarn industry as a whole is 14% to 15%.
D~cstho2ise-Dust, cotton fibers, and foreign mat-
ter exhausted from the opening and picking opera-
tions by means of air suction. This stock can be wil-
lowed, but during the operation a shrinkage of 25%
to 70% occurs.
Hard threads-Yarn waste, with considerable
twist, left on any of the packages used in spinning,
twisting, winding, warping, slashing, and weaving,
or collected during these operations.
Invisible waste-Material which is lost in proces-
sing and is not re~overed. It is caused by loss in the
air of fine particles of fiber and dust, and by drying
out of the cotton during processing.
Nlotes-Pieces of seed and plant, and small, im-
mature seeds, to which fibers adhere. Motes are re-
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moved in the opening, picking, and carding opera-
tions, usually at the grid bars or mote knives. They
are subclassified as opener motes or picker motes, de-
pending upon the point of removal. Motes removed
in carding are included with other card wastes.
There is a shrinkage of 35% to 60% in willowing
motes, because of the removal of nonfibrous matter.
Slaslzey threads-Hard waste containing sizing,
produced in slashing, drawing-in, and weaving, and
generally sold as &dquo;balled slasher.&dquo;
Soft t tlareads-Yarn left on bobbins or collected
during spinning, twisting, and similar operations.
The yarns contain some twist, but less than is found
in hard threads. Soft threads may be garnetted into
shoddy, a shrinkage of 5 % to 8% occurring in the
process.
Spinning-room, sweeps-Waste swept from the
floor of the spinning room. It contains the same
types of trash found in card-room sweeps, and, in
addition, some thread waste and bobbins.
Weave-YOOa~ sweeps-Waste swept from the floor
of the weave room. Containing the usual foreign
matter found in sweeps, it has a larger proportion of
hard waste. Many mills burn this type of waste,
since the return from its sale (less than 10 per lb.
in 1948) does not pay the cost of baling.
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716

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168. Winnie and Donovan, A Method for Distinguish-
ing Between Old and New Cotton Fibers, Am.
Dyestuff Reptr. 21, 601-2, 615 (Oct. 10, 1932).
(Manuscript received June 5, 1950.)
f rova the National Cotton Council off